The Concepts of Sweet
by Ember Mage
Summary: Because one who is lonely seeks the knowledge of sweet comfort. Momoko adjusts to her new life, but still feels a little distant from her friends.
1. Bittersweet

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

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**The Concepts of Sweet  
Concept 1: Bittersweet**

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There are some certain sentiments that cannot disappear forever. Momoko hadn't felt this way since the time she spent her time burying her nose in bright picture books abundant with colorful witches surrounded in magical glitter; when she was only a mere age of five and had difficulty approaching other kids and becoming friends. 

Sometimes at the Sweet Shop, the girls broke into separate groups to stimulate business. Momoko usually ended up being the one tending to the customers outside the patio, documenting today's specialties, or differentiating the various flavors embedded into the cookies for those who asked. Onpu shared the same job as her, but more often would she stop by Aiko's spot near the cash register and exchange a joking remark, or even a giggle. 

Doremi and Hazuki worked in the background as pastry chefs, and as many times Momoko asked if they needed up, most of the time they were all right (unless Doremi happened to spill everything everywhere). It was hard to join any of Doremi and Hazuki's conversations, since they had known each other since kindergarten and had rapid conversations about nearly... everything. 

It wasn't the fact that Doremi and the other girls ignored her; in fact, the four had made continuous efforts to include Momoko into their conversations, inquiring about life in New York, magic, and other sundry topics; but Momoko alone lacked much knowledge in Japanese culture and the ability to speak much of it herself. Apart from the girls, she was a _nisei_, a second-generation Japanese girl. 

It wasn't just because Momoko didn't really grasp much Japanese traditions—Doremi, Hazuki, Aiko, and Onpu had already known each other for more than a year, and she had only known all of them for around a couple of months. It was natural that the girls had much to rattle on about, from field trips to witch exams, while Momoko had nothing to share about their history together. 

Momoko shrugged, and switched to more optimistic view, telling herself not to expect things to come so quickly. She was just starting to get to know the other girls better, and it wouldn't be long before they would have too much to share about. 


	2. Soursweet

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

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**The Concepts of Sweet  
Concept 2: Sour-sweet**

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The daily rituals of ending class was the following: pack up your items, run to the MAHO Dou, and work until dusk.

Of one of the tasks of work was not limited to refilling the candy jars, or producing new cakes. In fact, no one would have thought working in a patissierie included taking care of a magical baby who was bound to cry and literally bring a hurricane to the building when losing her pacifier.

"Hana-chan, we're back!" called Doremi, sprinting into the room over to the baby's playpen. The other girls followed at a similar speed, cooing their hellos and tossing their satchels just to cuddle near the infant. Only Momoko remained at the doorway, a wobbly smile pasted onto her face. A tiny spark of loneliness lurched at the bottom of her stomach again. She didn't mean to feel so sour at such a sweet scene, but for some reason she still did.

_Even this baby's known them longer than me_, she thought mournfully, but she joined her friends anyway.


	3. Sugary sweet

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

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**The Concepts of Sweet  
Concept 3: Sugary sweet**

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It's break time at the Sweet Shop MAHO Dou. The line of customers were thinned out, the benches on the patio were wiped sparkle-clean, and extra pastries were produced for the next influx of potential buyers.

The girls were in the kitchen, whipping up their original creations, while their fairies were operating the candy machines. The tiles were dusted in the snow of flour, and the tables had drops of cake batter here and there. The air was filled with happy chatter and the rhythm of cooking utensils clanking pots. 

Doremi's creation was a white cake shrouded in vanilla frosting. The top was lined and bordered with strawberry icing and strawberries. In Momoko's standards, it was not necessarily close to perfect— the frosting looked slightly uneven, the design a bit messy, and Doremi's choice in pattern awkward, but Doremi was still learning and was getting better every day. Although unprofessional, it was still acceptable—someone was at least bound to purchase it. 

Momoko looked over at Hazuki, who was busy making her special orange jelly bun. The dough was woven into a symmetrical, meticulous design, and every curve was nearly the same as the last. As expected of the scrupulous Hazuki, figured Momoko with a sly smile. She had also noticed that Yada Masaru, a classmate of hers, often bought Hazuki's jelly bun at every purchase in the Sweet Shop, although Hazuki would deny the obvious connotation of this act.

Moving on, the next was Aiko's blueberry crepe. Although the dessert had a scrumptious-looking demeanor, Momoko was afraid to eat it. Aiko had a knack of trying out new flavors and adding whatever she thought would taste good. Paprika, cucumbers, sweet yams, it didn't matter; in they went. 50 of the time the crepe would turn out surprisingly delicious, and 50 of the time it would taste unbearingly awful. Momoko hoped that this time it would taste the former 50, remembering she received a nasty stomachache the last time she sampled Aiko's creations.

The next was Onpu's infamous boysenberry and blackberry tart. Because it was extremely popular and Onpu was seldom around to make it, it was a rare delight for customers and the girls alike. Settled in a golden crust with cream and berries piled up on top, it was blatant that Onpu was too occupied to spend time practicing on organizing the design of her treats. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, it sold well, in fact better than the others, and it might have been partially due to because Onpu was a famous idol. Although Onpu lacked experience in creating the dessert, her neat personality was able to organize it meticulously clean, more so than Doremi's.

Momoko's lime-green eyes trailed over to Majorika, who was sampling a piece of key lime pie the girls had made especially for her ("So that she won't yell at us for stalling," being Doremi's joking reason). Swallowing bite after bite, Momoko hoped that she enjoyed the dessert and maybe cut some slack on them. The pale green of the filling accentuated Majorika's form as a witch frog, Momoko noticed.

She drifted over to a plate of cherry-jelly cookies the girls had prepared especially for Poppu, whose favorite flavor was red-red-cherry. While Poppu was a witch, she was often busy with her friends. _No can do_, thought Momoko, _because after all, Poppu-chan has people her age to keep her company_. She knew for sure that Poppu would come today, on the account of her promising to help out at the MAHO Dou a bit.

Everyone had their own colors of the rainbow, Momoko observed. While analyzing such thoughts, a gurgle from Hana-chan's playpen broke into her train of thought. She raised an eyebrow in interest. _What would Hana-chan's color be_? she wondered. White? Cream yellow? It was something that she hadn't thought about before.

Momoko looked down at the yellow mix on her pan. She had been making lemon squares and was preparing the equally sour-sweet frosting in another bowl, but in her mind she wondered if cheesecake would be more suitable instead. Just so Hana-chan wouldn't be alone.


	4. Secret sweet

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

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**The Concepts of Sweet  
Concept 4: Secret sweet**

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While the girls were extremely friendly, Momoko had no idea that they could be so strict to a baby. It was almost shocking that such kind people had such... _authority_.

"No, Hana-chan, no," scolded Doremi as she pulled a plate of pudding away from Hana-chan's reach. "Too many sweets are bad for you. Bad."

The baby only responded by pawing her tiny hands madly in the air, squirming and making sounds of desparation. Her former smile upturned into a large frown, and her eyes were moistening. Her cries became louder, filling Doremi with guilt.

Before Doremi gave in, Hazuki sharply cut in with little to no sympathy in her otherwise soothing voice. "_No_, Hana-chan," she said firmly. (Momoko was amazed at how someone shy like Hazuki be so forward and demanding. Life was full of surprises, she figured.) That seemed to stop Hana-chan from clawing to the pudding temporarily, as she withdrew her hands. However, more tears began filling up her honey-brown eyes.

"Aw, come on, Hana-chan," Aiko filled in, placing a hand on the baby's shoulder. "We really don't wanna do this, but it's for your own good. It's not like you can't eat pudding forever. You can have it later, just not now."

That didn't seem to help either. Hana-chan was on the verge of crying.

"Be a good girl for us," pleaded Onpu. Even she was unsure of what to do.

"_Hana-chan_," begged Doremi again.

Before any of the calming could take place, Majorika burst in on the scene, demanding the girls to get back to work. Reluctantly, they did, shooting long glances back at Hana-chan's depressed expression.

When the other girls were gone and no one was within earshot, Momoko tiptoed back to the playpen. Hana-chan's ponytails perked up at the sight of her visitor, and before she could babble in question, Momoko placed a finger on her lips. "Shhh," she whispered carefully, and produced a plate of pudding for the baby. "I managed to take this when the others weren't looking. Eat it while you can. Don't tell anyone. Keep it a secret."

Hana-chan nodded in agreement, a large grin forming on her face.


End file.
